23/12/2022 (Monitor) - The government has unveiled a plan to plant at least 100,000 hectares of oil palm to meet the increasing demand for edible oils and also substitute imports.

The government is also targeting to increase the growth of sunflower, sesame, and soya beans.

“The government policy is to promote both palm and oil seeds. We want farmers to get involved on a large scale. Our target is to satisfy both immediate consumer demand and also have a robust domestic value chain,” the State Minister for Agriculture, Mr Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, said on Wednesday.

The minister was addressing a three-day stakeholders retreat in Kalangala District where staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, National Agricultural Research Organisation, National Agricultural Advisory Services, academic, and oil palm farmers representatives identified gaps to inform the national plan for the sector.

Mr Kyakulaga said they prefer oil palm compared to other oil seeds because it is 10 times more productive per unit area than any other crop.

“Naturally, oil palm has proven to be a model commodity for the achievement of the objectives of the agro-industrialisation programme,” he said.

Currently, Uganda can only produce 80,000 metric tonnes of edible oil annually against the current demand of 120,000 metric tonnes, but Mr Kyakulaga said they are eyeing 500,000 metric tonnes by 2025.

He said the government is currently negotiating with various banks to support industrial oil palm farmers who would like to grow bigger acreages beyond what the project is currently able to fund.

According to Mr Kyakulaga, once they hit their target (500,000 metric tonnes), the country will be able to have enough edible oil and other key ingredients needed in soap production.

https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/govt-to-plant-100-000-hectares-of-oil-palm-4064502